Food : average Atmosphere: great with fantastic italian music Service : good Salad : house salad was nothing special- served in a plastic bowl and had cracks in the bottom of the bowl (never gets washed) Salad dressing : not as good as expected Price : Fair to overpriced Soup tasted like Campbell's Garlic bread was tasty read more

Typical tourist restaurant: nice location/decor but the food is terrible. Plan on around $120 - $130 for a family of four with a couple of drinks. read more

We first had a hard time finding the door for the restaurant but that was okay because we just missed the sign. But the disappointment all laid on the food. Food was still cold, tortellini was still cold, ravioli looked like it just came out of a package, steamed with cheese on it. Garlic bread was rock hard... I was extremely excited to try out such a well spoken about restaurant, only to be disappointed. read more

Worst food ever. For an hour party that one of us liked our food or dessert will never go back. Server matched the food

My girlfriend and I came to Galena for a romantic weekend. In fact on a beautiful Saturday afternoon we got engaged. To celebrate we went to Vinny's for dinner. Not having any reservations, we were asked to go to the top floor and a table would be waiting for us. With this added climb along with the steps climb to get to the restaraunt my daily workout was done. Upon entering the room I noticed it was extremely dark. We were seated and a waiter came to our table. I asked if they could turn up the light so that we could at least read the menu. To my surprise it stayed dark the entire evening. Everyone in this section of the restaurant had to use their phones to light up the menu, see our food, and pay the bill. All in all the food was great and the service was okay. If you are ever brought to this room ( very top floor Bistro area towards Main Street) to eat ask to be moved. The ambience is terrible. read more

Vinny Vanucchi's - Italian Near Me - Galena, Illinois

See all

The food was delicious and the interior of the building was decorated really cute. Prices were reasonable. Our waiter was really great and patient to some very demanding older ladies at a nearby table. read more

This was a VERY disappointing experience! The service was awful! We ordered bruschetta and it was totally bland. It was essentially a caprese salad in crispy bread with no seasoning. The mozzarella was clearly no homemade. It came out slightly melted but cold. We ordered the ravioli with marinara. The sauce was watery and the dish so cold we had to send it back. It came back cold too. It took forever just to get someone to take our order or bring us water. The tortellini carbonara was just ok. And everything was way overpriced for what you get. We won't be back. So disappointing! read more

I asked the server before I ordered the Pasta Primavera about its sauce. She said it's like the fettuccine Alfredo just with veggies. It was the worst thing I've ever tasted. Now I believe there was Sherry in it and too much. Who puts Sherry in fettuccine Alfredo sauce? Also, the baked Penne didn't have any ricotta as described and the sauce was mediocre. I don't know how this place is highly recommended. We eat Italian food all the time, and I am confused how this place gets high rating. I did mention to the server that this was a bad dish and just than she mentioned that there must be wine in it. I do not recommend this place! read more

It was okay. We are coming from the north shore of Chicago, and are spoiled rotten by really good Italian food. The garlic bread had no garlic, and calamari was in small pieces. Service was good, which was very nice. This place won't knock your socks off but isn't bad either. It's okay. read more

We made a reservation 1 day in advance to secure an outdoor table because we have a small dog with us. Upon arrival, the lady behind desk said they do not accept reservations for outdoor dining. Showed her our request when making reservation thru Open Table. We were told when a table opens, we would be notified via text. Although it was only a 20 min. wait, the point is that after we were seated, we noticed "Reserved" signs on 2 tables. Talk about feeling disrespected! We visit Galena quite often, but we will NEVER go back to this restaurant for this reason!! read more

The absolute worst I-talian food I have ever eaten. I couldn't bring myself to calling this Italian food because it's so far from that. Not at all worth it. You'd be better off with a jar of sauce and a microwave. So many other choices here in Galena. read more

About all i can say is it was ok. Not out first time here so we know it could be better. The ladies at the table next to us said they wont be back and I can say it will be a while before we return. Our server had what appeared to be bedroom slippers on and seemed stretched a little thin for it being a slower time of the day. We ordered 2 hot teas and 2 glasses of ice when we got the teas i have know idea how long the teabags had sat in the water but it was much longer than the couple dunks I prefer. The tea was served in a shallow wide cup so it was cool by time it got to us. When he brought our salad it had our basket of bread sitting in the salad. Long after we finished our salad he brought our soups and entrees at the same time. The entrees were not as fresh and hot as they were the last time we were there, it was obvious enough that my 11 year old asked if they might be under new management because it was just not the same. The server was friendly enough but was definitely not the caliber they used to have in there. read more

See all

I ordered chicken parmigiana however the sauce was weak on flavor. My spouse mentioned to them that she has a parmigiana allergy. They forgot and served us garlic bread, and a salad with parmesan on it. To their credit they did bring back both without the cheese. The garlic bread just tasted like buttered toast, with no garlic in it. It has a pleasant atmosphere, but weak on flavor of their dishes. I would not go back. read more

This is a restaurant that takes full advantage of the scenery of Galena in its design. Sitting at the top a long set of stairs, the walk up to them is scenic. The food is good Italian. We had veal marsala and ravioli. The veal was well seasoned and served on a bed of linguini. The ravioli was stuffed with italian sausage and was tasty. read more

Solid all around!!! Great service, and the food was spot on, good! Spicy sausage sandwich, and chicken vinito, were what we ate... wonderful.. read more

Vinny Vanucchi's - Outdoor eats! - Italian Near Me - Galena, Illinois

Garlic bread was the best part of our experience. Food was bleh. Salad over dressed and greens were browning. Way over priced for a small bowl of pasta. Took forever to check out and leave. read more

This place is so disappointing. The service was terrible. We sat outdoors, and there were a BUNCH of flies landing on our food!! When we want the restaurant to take notice of the overwhelming flies and bugs, the server and host saw our frustration but walked past us!! Overrated for the atmosphere. read more

Dirty. Branded as Italian but it's actually just gross Americanized food with artificial "Italian" flavor. Most of the menu is something Alfredo which isn't Italian at all. Alfredo sauce was invented in the US to appeal to the infant palette of the US population. Really just Mac n Cheese presented differently. One more wannabe Italian restaurant to add the list of disappointment when eating out in America. read more

Overall good food and good experience. The waiter was very nice and gave good service. The salad they give you was excellent. The garlic bread was a little over the top and over soaked in butter. The veal parm was cooked excellent and the pasta was done perfect. read more

Was really shocked by the poor customer service. Very rude, unnecessary. We've been coming with our family for years, and have come to expect better. read more

Pros; Located at the perfect spot in Galena. Decor is very cute and inviting. One of very few restaurants open on a Monday during a pandemic. Garlic bread is to die for! Cons; Service is is bad. They made it very clear they do not like their jobs. Overpriced. Awful food. (stuffed mushrooms are disgusting, pasta is cold and bland, burger was underwhelming, $32 steak was decent but not trimmed and came on a huge plate swimming in oil) read more

I attempted to order dinner for takeout last night and was told they could not accommodate my order (even though the website highlighted this feature). When I asked to speak to the manage I was hung up on. Very disappointing when trying to support the restaurant business that has been hit hard by COVID. read more

This was our first time at Vinnys. Great food and wait staff was amazing. Would definitely visit again.

My experience here was disappointing. You first really have no clue where exactly to go into this restaurant. Go up the hill, to the courtyard. However then there are two signs one for upstairs bistro & one for the restaurant. When you walk into restaurant one, you are right in front of a sales case for their items. No greeter until you decide to wander a bit and go around a corner- then you see a greeter. My waitress was named Megan. (The only reason I know this was that the other waitress was named Megan as well. I heard that Megan say leave the tip to "the tall Megan, because the other waitress is named Megan too). So, by this statement- is how I found out her name. She explained nothing to us, first time guests to this restaurant. (And Galena) The other waitress explained things to her tables, had a smile and was genuinely happy. We had no idea that all The sausage was spicy until I asked. We had no idea the salad was refillable, or that the house salad had a homemade raspberry vinaigrette dressing. (Take a guess at how I learned this.. Yep- the other waitress. We ordered prior to another table of our waitresses. Yet, she brought the food out at the same time and served them first. The food was good enough, although overpriced for what it is. When I specifically asked how many pieces of manicotti- I was told 2. 2 pieces for $19? When asked the portion size of lasagna, she stated "a decent portion" & then left. The garlic bread was sitting in a pool of oil. No Parmesan was offered, very small water glasses & refilled once- by way of touching the tops of glasses. Gross! Sure we would have liked this experience much more had our waitress put some effort into it & prices had been more reasonable. We should have chosen another restaurant to patronize. read more

This place was beautiful, wonderful service, great food and definitely delicious and delightful.

This place is frickin awesome. Location, ambiance, service, decor, and food are amazing. What an fantastic experience. This place is the perfect stop for dinner in Galena. read more

Awesome old school Italian restaurant based in an old multi story house with lots of fun old family photos on the walls and Italian decor and amazing food! The service from the waiter Cole was outstanding! Despite the fact that he was the only waiter, server and also the bartender with a full room of tables he was on top of it and didn't miss a beat. We appreciated his hard work and effort so much we tipped him $40 on an $88 tab. Thanks so much Cole for your incredible service and one heck of a Tiramisu cocktail. We'll be back soon and recommend Vinny's to everyone now! A+++ read more

This place was disgusting. I'd rather eat any where but here. I was extremely excited and had high hopes for it. The appetizer was frozen fried raviolis not even homemade. The food had no flavor. I'd go to so many other places before I would ever come back. Staff was ehh read more

One of my favorite restaurants to visit in Galena and they never disappoint. This time I brought all my friends for my birthday and we had amazing service from Megan (our waitress) and the rest of the staff. I always love the ambiance and the eggplant parmesan is just like Mom makes it :D read more

Vinny Vanucchi's - Italian Near Me - Galena, Illinois

My Wife and I took a weekend trip to Galena and happened upon this delicious Italian eatery. It has a romantic old Galena atmosphere with a touch of Tuscany. The bruschetta appetizer was delicious so don't fill up on the complimentary garlic bread. The pasta is fresh and some of the best we have had. Their seafood pasta dish not only was plentiful it had some of the most flavorful seafood I have ever had. They also have a large wine list which is fairly priced. If you go during peak times I would suggest making a reservation. A must stop when in Galena. read more

See all

We had a great lunch! The food was exceptional and very well prepared. Cole was our waiter and he is an up and coming hospitality professional. He knew the menu, had great suggestions and was very attentive. Everyone in the restaurant made you feel welcome. I would go back again for sure worth for the service and great food. read more

Great menu with decent Italian food. Cool atmosphere in downtown Galena. Bread and salad before your meal are both very good.

This use to be one of favorite restaurants when visiting Galena. That has changed as the last couple times the meals have been served luke warm to almost cold. In addition the food has been bland. The garlic bread you can bearly taste. Tje salads the same way. Take a lesson from Olive Garden. My wife said the same thing about her meal last night. I expect better, especially at these prices. There are lots of resturants in Galena to be able to try something different. Time for Vinny's to get a new chef. read more

One of the worst Italian dinners I ever had. I ordered the Veal Marsala for $31.95. There were two very small pieces of breaded veal on top of a bowl of pasta and canned mushrooms soaked in some sauce which looked like it was thickened by cornstarch. It was the worst veal Marsala I ever had, and it did not look or taste like any other veal or chicken Marsala I ever had. The garlic bread and the salad were not better than the veal Marsala either. I do not understand why anyone would write a good review on this place. I can say that they couldn't pay me to go back there. read more

We had a fabulous evening at Vinny's. Our server, Luke was very attentive and gracious. It was more than a meal, it was a memorable dining experience. read more

We ate there and was very disappointed with the food. My chicken was burned on both sides and totally inedible. The restaurant was empty on the 3rd floor and the waiter never checked back on the food which meant I had to walk down 2 flights of steep stairs to find an employee to tell him to get my waiter for me. After showing him the chicken the waiter said he would ask the chef to cook it again. I couldn't eat it that black for sure. The next one was fine. When he brought the check I asked him if he showed the black one to the manager and he said yes but he told him to cook another one. Even when I asked for a reduced price he said the manager said no. I would never recommend this place. They weren't busy at all and it was just chicken! read more

Vinny Vanucchi's 'Little Italy' - Galena reviews Summary 5  4  3  2  1  Overall Rating 4.4 (1,444) 94% would recommend it to a friend Food4.4Service4.5Ambiance4.4 Noise LevelModerateValue4.2 Reviews Most recentHighest ratedLowest rated by BrianP on March 29, 2019 This was both my third visit to, and utter disappointment at, Vinney Vanucchi's over the same number years; it will also be the last time I allow someone to convince me that I should give it another try. I feel so strongly about the poor quality of the food at Vinnie's that this account was created solely for the purpose of reviewing this establishment. The service was fine, average, but fine. The ambiance is enjoyable; it is a beautiful old building with a very nice view over the charming downtown galena area, and is sufficiently dim as to be romantic and still have no issue reading your menu. The food, however, is a complete joke. The three entrees I have (partially) eaten during my visits are: 1) Fettuccine Chicken Alfredo, tied with the Carbonara sauce for the worst of the three, would rank about two steps down from Bertolli from your local Walmart, and about four steps down from Olive garden (as a side note for measurement, the alfredo Olive Garden serves at about 10 bucks a plate is the absolute minimum price/quality I would consider eating, and only if I had basically no other options). Sure it is creamy, if thick due to the addition of flour counts as creamy. It has almost no flavor at all, and was eerily similar in texture and consistency to poorly made gravy. From what I understand from my post visit research, they use a minimal amount of generic Kraft-like pre-grated parmesan and thicken it with a good amount of flour (as I suspected). I feel like like they use something other than heavy whipping cream, perhaps half and half, but am not sure about that. 2) Everything above applies to the carbonara sauce with an addition; it did not contain any egg. Egg is the ONLY difference between alfredo and carbonara. I explained to the waiter that I had received the wrong dish as I had ordered carbonara, not alfredo, sauce, and received the exact same sauce about 15 minutes later. When I again told the waiter I still had the wrong sauce, he looked at more closely and said ,I kid you not, "I'm sorry sir, but I can see the ham and mushrooms right here, if you don't like the sauce I can get you something else". The third dish was Joey Z's Shells. The pasta was overcooked (the pasta for both the alfredo and "carbonara" was also overcooked, but it was much more so with this dish), the Riccota Cheese mixture managed to have noticeably less flavor than that of plain ricotta cheese, so they must add add something almost flavorless in place of a portion of the ricotta to save money. The red sauce was watery and had very little flavor, markedly worse than Prego straight from the jar. The salad was ok once, overdressed another time (the vinaigrette is a bit sweet but I actually quite like it with the correct amount), and awful the third time as a quarter of the greens had gone bad; unfortunately I did not notice this until I the flavor of turned lettuce hit my taste buds. They try to trick you with the salad, the top is made up of nice leafy greens, but hidden under that the rest of the salad is all iceberg lettuce. The garlic bread is meh, it is not fresh bread and they just mix butter and garlic powder and spread it all over the top. To me it is very sad that this place somehow thrives in a city with so many better, often cheaper, options; even One Eleven Main, which has the same owners as Vinnie's, has much better food (not phenomonal, but good and worth eating at occasionally if you are in the area). If you want Italian at a reasonable price go to Canova's (truely excellent pizza and above par pasta), or if you want to spend more or want a really good meal go to Fried Green Tomatoes and get some lobster ravioli (you'll thank me as long as you like seafood). If the recipes were truly based on those of the Italian grandmother of the owner, I'm quite sure she is rolling over in her grave at the injustice that has been done to them in the name of cost cutting. read more

Good food. We go here every time my Aunt comes to town. She always has the chicken parmigiana. I have tried many things on the menu over the years, it's all been good. The salad and bread you get before the meal is great. More servers would help. I am sure we will be back. read more

Amazing pasta, bread and salad! Our waitress was fantastic too! I could eat here over and over! We loved it! read more

Vinny Vanucchi's - Italian Near Me - Galena, Illinois

If you plan a late lunch or early dinner at Vinny Vanucchi's you better call first to see what their hours are. After looking at their website to verify times of operation , my wife and I drove from Dubuque to Galena to have an early dinner only to be told when we arrived that they were closed for an hour to prepare for the dinner. Nothing about this on their website ! We could have eaten at the Vinnys in Dubuque , but have found the food to be inconsistent their. So disappointing, I fear a once thriving restaurant is in a downward spiral at both locations. read more